I just want a job I love… What should I do?

“I have been reading ETR for over a year now, and I love every issue. You give great advice on how people can move up in their careers by practicing a financially valuable skill, but I am having trouble making it work for my situation.

“When I graduated from college in 2001, during the beginning of the first recession, the only work I could find was in a call center for a not-for-profit electric company. There is a ‘marketing’ department, but most of what it does is community outreach and helping customers conserve electricity.

“I am interested in copywriting, marketing, and product creation, but there is no such thing at my current company. I study copywriting and marketing on the side, and have made some money as a freelance copywriter, but I have serious doubts about my ability to do so over a long period of time. My attempts to market my services to high-dollar prospects has been met with silence, and people who do contact me are only concerned with how much – or, rather, how little – I charge.

“I have recently started applying for marketing and corporate communications jobs, but with no success. I haven’t had any interviews, only the occasional e-mail rejection informing me I’m either under- or over-qualified. My wife and I barely make ends meet now, so an internship or a pay cut for any length of time are out of the question.

“I want the kind of financial success you’ve had. I know it takes money to really live life to the fullest. But, more important, I just want a job I love to do that allows me to work on my novel writing again. What should I do?”

Justin Black

Gainesville, GA

Dear Justin,

You graduated in 2001 and you are still working in the same call center that you settled for because of the “recession”? There is something terribly wrong with that. Something is awry. First of all, that recession was hardly a recession at all. And if you are willing to work hard and smart, no recession will keep you from getting a better job.

At your stage of life, you should either have a good job with a fast-growing company or you should be moving from one job to a better job every year or two. I can’t understand why you would be still at that one job after seven years. Unless there is something inside you that is holding you back. Or some condition you’ve been insisting on – like staying in the same geographical location – that you must learn to give up.

There are so many copywriting jobs that open up every year. AWAI is constantly advertising for staff copywriters and constantly running ads for other businesses that want to hire copywriters in their free e-letter, The Golden Thread. Have you applied for those jobs?

Here’s what I want you to do:

1. Buy Automatic Wealth for Grads… and Anyone Else Just Starting

2. Read Chapters 3, 4, and 5 on how to pick a career, get a good job, and earn a high income.

3. Follow everything I recommend in those chapters to a T.

4. Keep an exact record of everything you do.

5. If you don’t have a great job in three months, contact me again.

[Ed. Note: Mark Morgan Ford was the creator of Early To Rise. In 2011, Mark retired from ETR and now writes the Palm Beach Letter. His advice, in our opinion, continues to get better and better with every essay, particularly in the controversial ones we have shared today. We encourage you to read everything you can that has been written by Mark.]

Mark Morgan Ford was the creator of Early To Rise. In 2011, Mark retired from ETR and now writes the Wealth Builders Club. His advice, in our opinion, continues to get better and better with every essay, particularly in the controversial ones we have shared today. We encourage you to read everything you can that has been written by Mark.

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About ETR

Early To Rise delivers science-based systems and structures to help people achieve a higher level of performance. We share proven strategies for success and help our readers steer clear of fads, gimmicks, and frauds. This ensures a win-win relationship between our readers and ETR, and creates faster results for everyone.